Chinese

Noun

麻布

1. linen or hemp cloth

Japanese

麻布 (asanuno, asafu, mafu): an example of hempen cloth from southern China.

Etymology 1

Compound of Old Japanese elements 麻 ‎(asa, “hemp, ramie”) +‎ 布 ‎(nuno, “woven cloth other than silk”)^[1][2].

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) あさぬの [àsánúnó] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [a̠sã̠nɯ̃ᵝno̞]

Noun

麻布 ‎(hiragana あさぬの, romaji asanuno)

1. cloth woven of hemp or ramie, similar to linen

Usage notes

This appears to be the most common term for hempen cloth.

Etymology 2

Compound of 麻 ‎(asa, “hemp, ramie”) +‎ 布 ‎(fu, “woven cloth”)^[1]. This uses the on'yomi of fu for 布, deriving from Middle Chinese 布 ‎(pu^H); compare modern Mandarin reading bù.

Pronunciation

• Yutōyomi
• IPA^(key): [a̠sa̠ɸɯᵝ]

Noun

麻布 ‎(hiragana あさふ, romaji asafu)

1. (obsolete) cloth woven of hemp or ramie, similar to linen

Usage notes

This term appears to be used in modern Japanese. It is not included in the Shinmeikai monolingual Japanese dictionary^[3], nor in the Daijirin monolingual Japanese dictionary.^[2]

Etymology 3

Most likely a compound of Old Japanese elements 麻 ‎(asa, “hemp, ramie”) +‎ 生 ‎(fu, “place where things grow”), given that the Azabu area was known in ancient times as a place for growing hemp or ramie^[1].

This fu element also appears in terms such as 粟生 ‎(awafu, “a field for growing millet”)^[1][2] and 豆生, 豆田 ‎(mamefu, “a field for growing beans”)^[1]. The use of 布 to spell the fu portion would be an example of ateji, probably influenced by the way that hemp is used to make cloth (布).

The reasons for the shift in pronunciation from asafu to azabu remain unclear.

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• IPA^(key): [a̠za̠bɯᵝ]

Proper noun

麻布 ‎(hiragana あざぶ, romaji Azabu)

1. Azabu, an area in Minato ward, Tokyo

Adjective

麻布 ‎(-na inflection, hiragana あざぶ, romaji azabu)

1. (dated) of unknown intent

   This usage developed from the idiom. See Idioms below for details.

   • 何事も麻布にて、様々どうらくをなし給ふ^[4]

     なにごともあざぶにて、さまざまどうらくをなしたまふ

     Nanigoto mo azabu ni te, samazama dōraku o nashitamau...

     Everything of [his] real intentions is unknown, and [he] amuses himself with various diversions...

Idioms

• 麻布 (あざぶ)で気 (き)が知 (し)れぬ ‎(azabu de ki ga shirenu): “you can't figure out the feeling [intent] in Azabu” → based on a pun on the phrase “you can't figure out [identify] the trees in Azabu”, substituting 気 ‎(ki, “sense, intent, feeling”) for 木 ‎(ki, “tree”), appearing in print in 1763. This derives from the way that the Azabu area includes the Roppongi neighborhood. Although Roppongi is spelled as 六本木 ‎(“six trees”), there have not been any trees in the area that would match this description for quite some time.^[1][2]

Etymology 4

From Middle Chinese compound 麻布 ‎(mæ pu^H). Compare modern Mandarin reading mábù.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) ま​ふ [máꜜfù] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ma̠ɸɯᵝ]

Noun

麻布 ‎(hiragana まふ, romaji mafu)

1. (rare) cloth woven of hemp or ramie, similar to linen

Usage notes

This term appears to be less commonly used. It is not included in the Shinmeikai monolingual Japanese dictionary.^[3]

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. 1 2 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0
4. ↑ 1763: Hiraga Gennai, Nenashigusa (a dangibon)